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U.S. to Investigate Whether
Maine Plant Misled NRC

a Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter

Updated Sept. 20, 1996 12:13 a.m. ET

WISCASSET, Maine -- Operators of the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant said the U.S. Justice Department will review whether to bring criminal charges over allegations the plant misrepresented to regulators the abilities of its emergency core-cooling system.

The Justice Department investigation was prompted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC has ordered the plant to operate at 90% of capacity since it received an anonymous letter last December containing detailed allegations of flaws in a computer code.